In this world, every elite shinobi had blood on their hands. Life, at times, could be placed directly on the scales.
Just like in canon—the death of Hyūga Hizashi, Neji's father. The Konoha higher-ups tacitly agreed that the Hyūga Clan had to offer a life to placate Kumogakure, and in the end, Hizashi died in place of Hyūga Hiashi.
The Hokage's authority was indeed immense, but changing long-standing rules handed down from previous generations still required unanimous approval from the Elders—Koharu Utatane, Homura Mitokado, and Danzō Shimura.
For a time, the atmosphere fell into silence.
Hiruzen Sarutobi and Danzō locked eyes. Yet this time, no matter how sharp Hiruzen's gaze was, Danzō remained calm and composed—firmly holding the upper hand.
At last, Hiruzen took a deep breath and spoke first, turning to Yuya.
"Yuya, you may leave for now."
"Yes."
After Yuya left, Hiruzen's anger finally surfaced as he turned toward Danzō.
"Danzō—just to satisfy your own ambitions, you're willing to force that child to his death?!"
"Sarutobi, choose your words carefully," Danzō replied evenly.
"I'm merely preventing you, as Hokage, from making a reckless mistake. As your advisor, it's my duty to ensure you make the correct decision."
Hiruzen wanted nothing more than to slam the desk and openly fall out with Danzō—but he couldn't. Giving Danzō leverage now would be disastrous.
After all, Danzō had coveted the Hokage position for years.
"The shinobi world is becoming more chaotic by the day. The Second Shinobi World War is practically inevitable," Hiruzen said coldly.
"Danzō, I can tolerate many of your actions—but touching Konoha's foundation is unacceptable!"
"Foundation?" Danzō sneered.
"Yuya is merely an outsider child. What right does he have to be considered Konoha's foundation?"
Unlike Hiruzen, Danzō had no intention of placing trust in a child like Yuya.
In truth—he trusted no one completely.
"You—"
Hiruzen's voice caught when Danzō once again emphasized Yuya's origin.
Seeing this, a faint, mocking curve appeared at the corner of Danzō's mouth.
"Relax, Sarutobi. Perhaps that so-called genius boy will defeat Uchiha Han outright. Wouldn't that be a perfect outcome?"
"It would prove his talent and severely suppress the Uchiha Clan's arrogance."
Hiruzen nearly lost his composure from Danzō's cold sarcasm.
Defeat Uchiha Han?
What a joke!
Uchiha Han was an elite chūnin—strong even among chūnin.
Even if Yuya's talent was extraordinary, defeating an ordinary chūnin in two months would already be miraculous.
Beating an elite chūnin?
That was pure fantasy.
An elite chūnin meant peak performance in every chūnin category—only a step below jōnin.
For great clans like the Uchiha and Hyūga, once a member reached chūnin and possessed the Sharingan or Byakugan, they were almost guaranteed to be elite chūnin.
And unlike the Hyūga—
Not every Uchiha awakened the Sharingan.
But Hiruzen knew this much clearly:
Uchiha Han possessed the Sharingan.
That fact was officially recorded.
The progression was clear:
Peak chūnin across all areas → Elite Chūnin
One area reaching jōnin level, or mastery of a forbidden/secret technique → Special Jōnin
All areas reaching jōnin level → Jōnin
Peak jōnin across all areas → Elite Jōnin
The path of a shinobi was step by step.
Crossing an entire rank was unimaginably difficult.
Yuya had already achieved such a leap once due to his Kekkei Genkai.
To do it again, consecutively—
Was nothing short of a fairy tale.
"Uchiha… Danzō…"
Walking through Konoha's streets after leaving the Hokage's Office, Yuya's eyes glinted with a strange light.
It really felt twisted.
Danzō—who upheld Tobirama Senju's will and despised the Uchiha above all else—who constantly sought to suppress them—
Was now, in a sense, standing halfway on the Uchiha's side to pressure Hiruzen.
It was another brutal reminder of how dark Konoha's power structure truly was.
On the surface, Yuya seemed to be at the center of everything.
In reality—
Whether he existed or not hardly mattered.
This had become a struggle between three forces:
Hiruzen Sarutobi
Danzō Shimura
The Uchiha Clan
Yuya was merely caught in the middle.
Any one of those forces was an insurmountable mountain to him right now.
"Strength… that's what really matters."
Yuya clenched his fist and murmured softly.
If he wanted to control his own fate, there was only one path—
Relentlessly growing stronger.
Exhaling slowly, Yuya steadied his thoughts.
What he needed to overcome now was Uchiha Han.
Yuya knew his current strength was formidable. Even against a chūnin, he had confidence in putting up a fight.
But Uchiha Han was no ordinary chūnin.
At the very least—elite chūnin.
And very possibly—
A Sharingan wielder.
To defeat Uchiha Han, Yuya's current power wasn't enough.
He had to open the Second Gate of the Eight Gates.
With no obstacles along the way, Yuya returned home.
And resumed training.
Push-ups. Squats.
Sweat poured from his body until he was nearly numb—only then did he allow himself to sleep.
The next morning, Yuya considered his training plan.
The wooden posts were already destroyed. He'd need to make new ones.
But even new wooden posts wouldn't last long.
Even without deliberately using Shock Release, repeated punching would eventually leak shock force once his arms went numb.
Wood was simply too fragile.
Stone, on the other hand—
Though troublesome—
Would be far better.
He also realized he shouldn't suppress Shock Release during training at all.
Every punch should carry it.
Shock force placed heavy strain on the body—but precisely because of that strain, it became another form of training.
Keeping the body in a constant state of vibration was an excellent method of refinement.
The results would be twice as effective.
Leaving his house, Yuya glanced at the bustling streets of Konoha and headed toward Hokage Rock.
If he remembered correctly—
In canon, Pain and the Nine-Tails-transformed Naruto had fought in a rocky, hilly area nearby.
That terrain would be perfect.
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